We remained four or five days in this position, and every day parties of my men fell in with the enemy, and skirmished with them. One day, a larger body of the enemy than usual advanced, and there was a very sharp fight, without any marked advantage on either side. Of my troops, one who had a standard behaved ill, ran off, and got into the trench. There were persons who pretended to say that the standard was Sayyidī Kāra Beg’s; and, in truth, Sayyidī Kāra, though most valiant in speech, by no means made the same figure with his sword. One night Sheibāni Khan attempted to surprise us, but we were so well defended by our ditch and chevaux-de-frise, that he could effect nothing. After raising the war-shout on the edge of our ditch, and giving us a few discharges of arrows, they drew off.

Bābur
resolves to
engage.

I now turned my whole attention and solicitude to the approaching battle. Kamber Ali assisted me. Bāki Terk­khān, with a thousand or two thousand men, had arrived in Kesh, and would have joined me in two days. Syed Muhammed Dughlet, the Mir’s son, too, was advancing with a thousand or fifteen hundred men, who had been sent to my assistance by the Khan my maternal uncle; they had reached Dabūl,* only four farsangs from my camp, and would have joined me next morning. Such was our situation, when I precipitated matters, and hurried on the battle:

He who with impatient haste lays his hand on his sword,
Will afterwards gnaw that hand with his teeth from regret.*

The cause of my eagerness to engage was, that the stars called the Sakzyūldūz (or eight stars)* were on that day exactly between the two armies; and if I had suffered that day to elapse, they would have continued favourable to the enemy* for the space of thirteen or fourteen days. These observances were all nonsense, and my precipitation was without the least solid excuse.

Arrange-
ments for
battle.

In the morning, having made the troops array themselves in their armour, and caparison and cover their horses with cloth of mail, we marched out and moved towards the enemy, having drawn out the army in order of battle, with right and left wing, centre and advance. On the right wing were posted Ibrahīm Sāru, Ibrahīm Jāni, Abul Kāsim Kohbur, with several other Begs. On the left wing were stationed Ibrahīm Terkhān, Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān, with the other Begs of Samarkand, Sultan Hussain Arghūn, Kara Birlās, Pīr Ahmed, and Khwājeh Hussain. In the centre were Kāsim Beg and some of my inferior nobility and attached adherents.* In the advance were Kamber Ali Salākh (the skinner), Bandeh Ali, Khwājeh Ali, Mīr Shah Kuchīn, Syed Kāsim the chamberlain, Khāldār the younger brother of Bandeh Ali, Kūch Beg, Haider Kāsim the son of Kāsim Beg,* with a number of my best armed men and most faithful partisans. We marched right forward to the enemy, and they, on their part, appeared ready drawn up to receive us. On their right wing were Mahmūd Sultan, Jāni Beg Sultan, and Taimūr Sultan; and on their left Hamzeh Sultan, and Mahdi Sultan, with a number of other Sultans. When the lines of the two opposite armies approached each other, the extremity of their right wing Bābur’s left
wing
turned. turned my left flank, and wheeled upon my rear. I changed my position to meet them. By this movement the advance, which contained most of my experienced and veteran warriors and officers, was thrown to the right; and scarcely any of them were left with me.* In spite of this, however, we charged and beat off the troops that came on to attack us in front, driving them back on their centre; and things even came to such a pass, that several of his oldest and most experienced officers represented to Sheibāni Khan, that it was necessary immediately to retreat, and that all was over. He, however, remained firm and kept his ground. The enemy’s right having, meanwhile, routed my left, now attacked me in the rear. As my advance had been thrown to the right on the change of our position, my front* was left defenceless. The enemy now began to charge us both in front and rear, pouring in showers of arrows. The Moghul troops which had come to my assistance, did not attempt to fight, but, instead of fighting, betook themselves to dismounting and plundering my own people. Nor is this a solitary instance, such is the uniform practice of these wretches the Moghuls; if they defeat the enemy they instantly seize the booty; if they are defeated, they plunder and dismount their own allies, and, betide what may, carry off the spoil. The enemy who were in front, made several furious attacks on me, but were worsted and driven back; they, however, rallied again and charged; the division of the enemy that had gained our rear coming up at the same time, and discharging showers of arrows on our troops. Bābur
routed. Being thus surrounded and attacked both before and behind, my men were driven from their ground. In battle, the great reliance of the Uzbeks is on the tulughmeh* (or turning the enemy’s flank). They never engage without using the tulughmeh. Another of their practices is to advance and charge in front and rear, discharging their arrows at full gallop, pell-mell, chiefs and common soldiers, and, if repulsed, they in like manner retire full gallop. Only ten Crosses the
Kohik. or fifteen persons were now left with me. The river Kohik was near at hand, the extremity of my right wing having rested upon it. We made the best of our way to it, and no sooner gained its banks than we plunged in, armed at all points both horse and man. For more than half of the ford we had a firm footing, but after that we sank beyond our depths, and were forced, for upward of a bowshot, to swim our horses, loaded as they were with their riders in armour and their own trappings. Yet they plunged through it. On getting out of the water on the other side, we cut off our horses’ heavy furniture and threw it away. When we had reached the north side of the river, we were separated from the enemy. Of all others, the wretches of Moghuls were the most active in unhorsing and stripping the stragglers. Ibrahīm Terkhān, and a great number of excellent soldiers, were unhorsed, stripped, and put to death by them.

If the Moghul race were a race of angels, it is a bad race;
And were the name Moghul written in gold, it would be odious.
Take care not to pluck one ear of corn from a Moghul’s harvest;
The Moghul seed is such that whatever is sowed with it is execrable.

Reaches
Samar-
kand.

Advancing up the north side of the river Kohik, I recrossed it in the vicinity of Kulbeh. Between the time of afternoon and evening prayers, I reached the Sheikh-zādeh’s gate and entered the citadel.

Bābur’s
loss in the
battle.

Many Begs of the highest rank, many admirable soldiers and many men of every description perished in this fight. Ibrahīm Terkhān, Ibrahīm Sāru, and Ibrahīm Jāni, were among the slain. It is rather an extraordinary coincidence that three men of such rank and distinction, and all of the name of Ibrahīm, should have fallen in the same battle. Abul Kāsim Kohbur, the eldest son of Haider Kāsim Beg, Khuda-berdi the standard-bearer, Khalīl, the younger brother of Sultan Ahmed Tāmbol, who has been frequently mentioned, all perished in this action. The greater part of He is de-
serted by
many of
his nobles. the rest dispersed and fled in every direction. Of these, Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān fled towards Kunduz and Hissār, to Khosrou Shah. Kamber Ali the skinner, the Moghul, whom among all my Begs I had distinguished by the highest marks of favour, in despite of all these benefits, at this season of need did not stand by me; but having first removed his family from Samarkand, afterwards went himself and joined Khosrou Shah. Several others of my officers and men, such as Kerīmdād, Khudadād the Turko­man, Jānikeh Gokultāsh, and Mulla Bābā Peshāgheri, fled towards Uratippa. Mulla Bābā was not at that time in my service, but was entertained as a guest. Others, again, acted like Shīrīm Taghāi, who returned to me indeed in Samarkand along with his men, and joined me in a consulta­tion, in which it was resolved to defend the place to the last drop of our blood, and to exert ourselves to the utmost to put it in a state of defence; yet did he, though my mother and sisters remained in the fortress, send off his family with his effects and people to Uratippa, he himself alone staying behind with a small party, unencumbered, and ready to move off in any direction. Nor is this the only instance in which he so acted; for in every case of difficulty or danger, he uniformly displayed the same want of steadiness and attachment.

Resolves to
defend Sa-
markand.